If your CA result shows a paper a few marks short, ICAI gives you two paid options, and they do different jobs. Verification (₹50 per paper) is an office check of the answer book for unmarked answers and totalling errors; you never see the paper. A certified copy (₹100 per paper) gets you a scanned copy of your evaluated answer book, and ICAI runs the same verification on it automatically before sending it. Neither is a re-evaluation, because the Chartered Accountants Regulations, 1988 do not allow examiners' marking to be reopened.
Both requests must be made online within one month of the result date. For the CA Intermediate September 2026 exam, whose result came out on 22 October 2026, that means by 21 November 2026. The rest of this page explains what each option can and cannot change, which one fits your marks, and how to fit the application around the next exam form.
What ICAI checks when you ask for verification
The power to check marks comes from Regulation 39(4) of the CA Regulations. ICAI's FAQs on verification of marks list exactly what the office looks at:
- whether all the answer books (main book plus any supplements) were compiled and evaluated together;
- whether any question, or part of a question, was left without marks;
- whether there is a totalling error inside a question or on the cover page;
- whether the marks written against each question match the marks carried to the cover page;
- whether the handwriting is the same across all the answer books, so that someone else's sheets have not been mixed in.
That is a clerical audit, not a second opinion. If an examiner gave you 3 out of 8 for a consolidation working that you think deserved 6, verification will not touch it. The same FAQ says plainly that revaluation of the answer book is not permitted under the 1988 Regulations, and the 2015 procedure for verification of answer books repeats that there is no provision for re-evaluation.
Where verification does help is the case most students worry about. Think of a whole sub-question that was never marked, an answer on a supplementary sheet that got separated, or a 7 that became a 1 on its way to the cover page. Those errors are rare, but when they happen they can move a paper across the 40-mark line.
What a certified copy adds
A certified copy is the evaluated answer book itself, scanned and made available for download. ICAI's FAQs on certified copies and inspection say the office verifies every answer book suo motu (on its own) before supplying the copy or allowing inspection, and if that check raises your marks you receive a revised statement of marks. So a certified-copy request already includes everything verification does. You do not need to file both for the same paper.
What you get on top is evidence. You can see the marks given question by question, find the answers that scored nothing, and judge for yourself whether a sub-part was skipped by the examiner. If, after seeing the copy, you spot a discrepancy of the verification type (an unmarked part or a wrong total), you can report it to the office. ICAI's March 2025 FAQs on examinations give one month from receipt of the copies for this, and also mention 30 days from the date of ICAI's letter for other discrepancies, so act quickly rather than testing which reading applies.
Two limits are worth knowing before you pay. For MCQ-based papers and the MCQ components of Intermediate papers, only a copy of the OMR answer sheet is provided; it does not show marks, and the question booklet and answer key are not supplied. And the certified-copy fee is not refunded in any circumstance, even if your marks go up.
Verification and certified copy side by side
The table sets out the practical differences as ICAI's FAQs and fee notice stand on 31 October 2026.
| Point | Verification | Certified copy |
|---|---|---|
| Fee per paper | ₹50 | ₹100 |
| Do you see the answer book? | No | Yes, a scanned copy (OMR sheet only for MCQ portions) |
| Clerical check of totals and unmarked parts | Yes | Yes, done automatically before the copy is released |
| Re-evaluation of the examiner's judgement | No | No |
| Fee refunded if marks change | Yes, automatically | No, never |
| Time limit to apply | Within one month of the result | Within 30 days of the result, with no late-fee window |
| Typical turnaround stated by ICAI | About 4 weeks, not guaranteed | Within 30 days of a complete application |
The fee figures come from ICAI's notice of 18 December 2025 revising the fees for verification and certified copies, listed on the ICAI examination announcements page. It cut verification from ₹100 to ₹50 per paper and certified copies from ₹500 to ₹100, starting with applications made after the January 2026 results. Older ICAI FAQs, including the March 2025 PDF, still show ₹100 for verification and a ₹400 cap per group, so do not rely on them for the amount. The portal shows the fee before you pay.
Which one to choose, based on how you missed
For Intermediate and Final, a group is passed by scoring at least 40% in each paper of the group and at least 50% in the aggregate of that group, in one sitting. How you fell short decides what is worth paying for.
Short in one paper, aggregate already fine
Here only one answer book matters. Ordering a copy of that single paper costs ₹100 and gives you both the automatic check and the chance to read the marking yourself. Verification of the same paper costs ₹50 and is refunded if the marks change, but it tells you nothing if they do not.
Illustration. Riya's Group I marks in the September 2026 Intermediate exam are 38, 52 and 61, an aggregate of 151 out of 300 (50.3%). She fails the group only because of the first paper, two marks short of 40. Ordering a copy of that paper alone costs ₹100. Asking for verification of all three papers would cost ₹150 and would add nothing, since the other two papers already clear 40 and the aggregate already clears 50%.
Every paper above 40, aggregate below 50%
Now an error in any paper of the group could close the gap, so the check has to cover all of them. Take Arjun with 45, 48 and 54, an aggregate of 147 (49%). He needs three more marks anywhere in the group. Verification of all three papers costs ₹150; certified copies of all three cost ₹300. If the extra ₹150 matters, verification across the group is the sensible choice, with the fee coming back if anything is corrected.
Close to the 60-mark exemption line
Under the FAQs on examinations, a candidate who appears in all papers of a group, fails the group, and scores 60% or more in a paper gets an exemption in that paper. It shows as a "#" against the marks, with the result "UNSUCCESSFUL-EX". The exemption carries forward to the next three examinations. A student on 58 in a paper should weigh whether two marks there would save rewriting it in January, and apply for that paper on the same logic as the 40-mark case.
Far short with no obvious error
If you were 15 marks short in a descriptive paper and remember leaving questions out, neither option is likely to change the result. Ordering a copy can still be worth ₹100 as a study tool: seeing where an examiner gave nothing for a half-correct working is useful preparation for the next attempt. Just do not expect it to move your marks.
The September 2026 timeline and the January 2027 exam form
ICAI's notice of 14 October 2026 announced that the Intermediate September 2026 results would be declared by the evening of 22 October 2026 on caresults.icai.org. One month from that date runs to 21 November 2026, which matches the window reported by CareerIndia's result coverage along with the January 2027 exam dates.
The same coverage reports that the January 2027 Intermediate exam form is open from 3 November to 16 November 2026 without late fee, and up to 19 November with late fee. That overlaps the verification window, and the overlap is where students lose an attempt. ICAI's verification FAQ is clear on three points:
- You may submit the next exam form while verification is pending.
- The last date for the next exam form will not be extended for anyone waiting on verification.
- If verification changes your result to a pass, the fee paid for the next exam is refunded along with the verification fee.
So the safe order is to fill the January 2027 form within the normal window and apply for verification or certified copies separately. Applying early also helps with timing. A request made on 5 November and processed in the four weeks ICAI mentions would come back around 3 December 2026. One made on 21 November could run to 19 December, just a fortnight before Group I papers start on 2 January 2027. The verification FAQ asks candidates who have heard nothing 15 days before the next exam to email the examination department, which for a 2 January start means writing by about 18 December.
Filing the request without it being rejected
Applications for Foundation, Intermediate and Final are online only, through the Self Service Portal at eservices.icai.org, and the fee is paid online. A few rules from ICAI's FAQs decide whether the request is processed at all:
- One verification application per roll number. Choose all the papers you want checked in one go, because a second online application is not accepted.
- Pick only papers you sat. Selecting a paper you did not appear in throws an invalid-selection error. If the papers in your uploaded request differ from those ticked on the portal, the portal selection prevails.
- The signed request. The certified-copy FAQ asks for a scanned, signed application in your own running handwriting, in Hindi if you wrote the exam in Hindi. Requests that are not handwritten are not processed even when the payment shows as successful. Follow whatever upload format the portal screen asks for on the day.
- Check the payment status. If money is debited but the screen does not show a successful transaction with a control number, ICAI treats the request as not received, and the failed amount comes back to your account. Pay again before the deadline rather than waiting for the reversal.
- No late window. ICAI dropped the late-fee option for certified copies in its August 2013 announcement and the current FAQs repeat that there is none. A request on 22 November for a 22 October result is simply out of time.
What the outcome letter can say
The FAQs list four outcomes: no change; an increase that changes your result or exemption; an increase that does not; and a decrease. The last one surprises people, but a totalling error can cut both ways, so verification is not risk-free if you are comfortably through a paper. Where marks change, a revised statement of marks is issued and the verification fee is refunded without a separate claim. The outcome is emailed to the address on your exam application and is also visible after logging in.
Keep in mind a separate reason the marks on your answer book may differ from your statement of marks: under Regulation 39(2), the ICAI Council can revise marks for all candidates or a section of them in a paper. Such a moderation adjustment is not an error, and neither verification nor a certified copy will undo it. If the copy shows a lower figure than your statement, the statement is the one that counts.
